CITYWIDE

MTA EXTENDS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has extended until March 8 the public comment period on the proposed 16-story facility to be built at East 50th Street as part of the planned extension of the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal.

The comment period was originally supposed to end today, but was extended at the request of critics of the proposed building who voiced concerns during a public hearing February 10 that the MTA had not sought enough feedback from the community. Scores of critics have said the proposed building is unnecessary for the extension and a threat to the economic and environmental health of the neighborhood, which includes historic landmarks such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

The Catholic Archdiocese of New York, one of the chief critics of the plan, said it first became aware of the 50th Street facility after owners of the buildings the MTA intended to raze received condemnation notices. Neighborhood groups then called for the first public hearing on the issue last year. Written statements received by the MTA before March 8 will be made part of the record.

– Special to the Sun

ALBANY

TELEMARKETER IS IN SPITZER’S SIGHTS

The state attorney general Eliot Spitzer says the latest telemarketer in his enforcement sights made some bad choices, beginning with choosing its charity clients.

Mr. Spitzer’s civil lawsuit to be announced today accuses Liberty Productions of Rhode Island and Massachusetts of failing to identify themselves as professional fund-raisers and lied that all proceeds would go for the charities. It’s clients: 16 police and firefighter charities.

Liberty understated the amount it raised for the Ballston Spa Police Benevolent Association by more than $20,000, then underpaid the police group and reported false figures to the state attorney general’s office, which regulates charitable giving, Mr. Spitzer said. Mr. Spitzer accused the telemarketer of using the police groups’ good reputations to turn a profit. Mr. Spitzer said donors were deceived until police reported their concerns.

Liberty allegedly told potential donors that the telemarketers were “members of the law enforcement community” and that they were placing calls from police stations, Mr. Spitzer said. The group also said the entire donation would go to the charity, and businesses that donated would be advertised in a directory with widespread distribution, Mr. Spitzer said.

– Associated Press

BRODSKY PROPOSES BAN ON TAX BREAK FOR COMPANIES THAT OUTSOURCE

A Democratic lawmaker critical of the state’s decision to give taxpayer-funded benefits to a company that sends jobs overseas is pushing a bill that would ban the practice.

The legislation proposed by state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester would prohibit companies from sending jobs out of New York if they received tax breaks or other financial incentives from the state. A violation of the legislation would require a company to repay whatever benefits it was awarded, and ban it from receiving further state financial assistance for five years.

The Democratic-controlled Assembly passed the bill last year, but the legislation died in the GOP dominated state Senate where it was sponsored by Republican Nicholas Spano of Westchester County. Calls to Mr. Spano’s office to determine whether the senator will reintroduce the bill this year were not returned. Mr. Brodsky said his intent is not to debate what’s become known as outsourcing, adding that sending jobs overseas is now part of the global economy.

“This is not about interfering with outsourcing,” he said. “This is about subsidizing it.”

Mr. Brodsky has been critical of the state Empire Development Corp.’s decision to grant taxpayer-funded benefits to the Rochester-based outsourcing firm Sutherland Global Services. The incentives were provided through the state’s Empire Zone program, which uses tax breaks and other financial benefits to create and retain jobs.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

POLICE INVESTIGATE SHOOTING OF BOXER

A makeshift memorial was seen outside the Gowanus Houses yesterday in honor of an amateur boxer who was shot by police early Sunday morning. The soggy cardboard box adorned with bouquets of flowers shielded dozens of votive candles but also displayed a sign that read: Cops, Killers. Montique Smalls, 39, was shot once in the right thigh after three plainclothes officers and one sergeant confronted him in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn just after midnight Sunday. Police said Smalls, who had a long criminal history, started to run as soon as the unmarked police car pulled up to where he was standing at the corner of Baltic and Bond streets. Police fired a total of 10 rounds, and one bullet severed Smalls’s femoral artery, causing him to bleed to death, according to police. None of the officers who fired had ever been involved in a shooting. A loaded .38 caliber gun was discovered near Smalls’s body. The shooting is still under investigation, said police.

– Special to the Sun

BODY FOUND FLOATING IN EAST RIVER

A man’s body was found floating in the East River on Sunday afternoon, police said. Police have not identified the man they found face down in the icy waters near Pier 63, but the death does not appear suspicious, investigators said. Police sources said that the man had been attending a post party, for a race called Monstertrack VI, at the Frying Pan on East 23rd Street where he became severely intoxicated and likely fell into the water. Though the medical examiner had yet to issue the autopsy results, police have deemed the death accidental.

– Special to the Sun

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